JSTOR for secondary schools

JSTOR digitizes the full back runs of journals. This includes the first issue published and up to 3-5 years from the present. JSTOR's historical depth makes it possible to analyze changing attitudes and cultural beliefs, and read classic works in over 60 disciplines. The oldest journal on JSTOR is Philosophical Transactions, which began publication in 1665. 

Academic journals frequently include book reviews. Book reviews are helpful for students working to understand the reception to a work of literature or key insights to academic publications. Within the advanced search options on JSTOR, a student can limit their results to reviews, but a search of all content related to a book title may yield even richer results. 

How to use academic journals on JSTOR:

• You can track the evolution of an idea over long periods of time.

• Scholarly discourse within a particular field across publications is a valuable research exercise.

• JSTOR includes all components of the journals; in addition to research articles, you can find cover images, editorials, book and film reviews, illustrations, and advertisements. 

  • Letters to the editor can shed light on any controversy.

  • Advertisements are fun and revealing visual literacy elements, especially in comparison.

JSTOR has more than 7,800 Open Access ebooks from leading publishers. Academic books on JSTOR can be read online and downloaded by individual chapters. The entire book can be explored using the online table of contents. Students can use academic books to develop a better understanding of the context of the subject they are studying. 

How to use academic books on JSTOR:

• Locating the table of contents in a book chapter item page:

• Explore the table of contents of any book to see what else might be relevant within that publication.

• Look especially at the introduction, indexes, bibliography.

Primary source collections on JSTOR are multidisciplinary and discipline-specific. They include select books, pamphlets, manuscripts, letters, oral histories, government documents, images, paitnings, and more.

But what are primary sources? For our purposes, primary sources are original materials. More importantly, they are from the same time period as the subject being studied and have not been edited or filtered through interpretation. 

A secondary source is a little easier to explain in the context of JSTOR. A secondary source is an account written after the event which interprets and evaluates primary sources (about the event.) They are commentary on what happened rather than records.

When you find an interesting primary source, save it in your workspace. Each primary source document in your workspace can be viewed and compared with other documents you have saved. 

How to use primary sources:

• Pamphlets and posters can help contextualize an era for students and spark a discussion that goes beyond the textbook.

• Use images from JSTOR in the classroom as essay prompts and in presentations.